Hear
NEW YORK.- No. That email doesn’t find you well.
Yesterday, you were resting on the beach. Or maybe you were lying on the couch with that book you finally had time to finish. Today, you find yourself face to face with hundreds of unread messages.
Returning to work after vacation can be scary for anyone. But for those who suffer from burnout In the workplace—a state that psychologists describe as a persistent feeling of exhaustion and cynicism about work—the transition is even harder.
Although the vacation seem like the obvious solution to work overwhelmrest time can reveal the extent to which you are exhausted, said Jeanette M. Bennett, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who studies the health effects of stress.
Burnout arises from the feeling of not having control over work. People may dread their jobs; fall victim to “the classic feeling of ‘I’m overwhelmed, I’m exhausted, please don’t let Monday come,’” said Thea Gallagher, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at NYU Langone Health.
Burnout spreads to other areas of life. People in this situation often feel like they have no energy except to finish the day. Family responsibilities, friends and hobbies can be relegated to the background: even if you have time for these non-work activities, a person could be too tired or even feel apathy, said Angela Neal-Barnett, professor of psychology at Kent State University and author of Soothe Your Nerves: The Black Woman’s Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic and Fear.
In some cases, taking time off can alleviate burnout: people return to work recharged, more prepared to cope with the workload. But When stress is excessive, vacations are little more than a Band-Aid. They may feel better when they are away, but as soon as it is time to return, the anxiety returns too.
To determine if you’re experiencing burnout, Bennett recommends asking yourself a few questions when you return to work: You were able to sleep easily during your free time, but now you spend the night tossing and turning? Does your heart rate skyrocket when you drive to work? Does your schedule leave you no room to spend time with your loved ones or to relax?
One of the reasons why the burnout can be so pronounced even if one comes from taking time off is that People tend to work harder before going on vacation, Gallagher explained, and going from intense work to downtime and then right back to work could be overwhelming.
Gallagher advised taking a day of rest before returning to work, if possible. Use that time to relax and readjust: unpack your bags if you traveled, do your shopping, and calmly return to your daily life so that the transition is less abrupt. It can also be helpful to make a quick, short-term plan, he said. Think about what you can realistically do the next day and make a list for when the workday starts.
Once you’re back at work, pay attention to how stress affects your body, Bennett continued. She advises writing down each day how you feel and what might be causing it.
If you notice that you always get a headache after talking to a certain coworker, or if you feel particularly anxious before a recurring meeting, make a plan to calm yourself down. It may help to take a minute to do a breathing exercise before the meeting, or take a short walk right after a conversation.
Your colleagues can also be helpful, added Christina Maslach, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies burnout. Ask them how they deal with the workload, or what they do to deal with a difficult boss. You can work together to identify what Maslach calls “the stones in your shoe”—the nagging annoyances of a job—and come up with ways to address them. Maybe you can delegate a task you dread to a colleague who doesn’t mind doing it, or turn a meeting into an email.
If you continually struggle to keep up with work, ultimately the answer could be to find a new job, although Bennett acknowledged that’s easier said than done. While you’re accomplishing this, he suggested taking a step back and analyzing whether the workload is sustainable and realistic. If not, it might be time to have an open conversation with your boss about what needs to change.
And remember that exhaustion is not a weakness, Maslach said.
“You could be doing a good job; A runner might be running an incredible marathon,” he said, “but you have to recover before you move on to the next one.”
By Dani Blum
The New York Times
